


Watch Me Watch Us Win

by applepancakes



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Sports, Enemies to Friends, Eventual Romance, Football | Soccer, Friendship, M/M, but here we go, only a tiny bit of romance tho idk if I should tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 10:17:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17865431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/applepancakes/pseuds/applepancakes
Summary: Dedicated football fan Minseok can't believe his luck when his dream of attending a live match is about to become reality. That is, until he runs into a particular fellow fan who causes his day to end up vastly different from how he'd imagined.(Aka the xiuhan as football fans AU that nobody asked for)





	Watch Me Watch Us Win

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I'm not a football expert so there might be some inaccuracies but I tried my best. None of the football teams mentioned are intentionally based on any existing ones. All mentions of EXO members/former members in this fic refer to mere fictional characters that are to be differentiated from their real-life counterparts.

# Watch Me Watch Us Win

 

Minseok looked up at the intimidatingly huge outer wall of the stadium and couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. He’d seen this exact stadium on television countless times over the years, always from the small couch in his family’s cramped living room, but actually standing in front of it now just felt overwhelming. 

 

Around him was a loudly chattering crowd of fellow fans forming a messy line towards the entrance, the excitement tangible in the air. The tension between the fans showcasing the flaming red and white of FC Seoul ‘26 and those sporting Busan ‘94’s royal blue was closely surveyed by an - in Minseok’s opinion - worryingly high number of security guards. 

 

Then again this was the semi-final of the season so the seemingly excessive amount of uniformed guards with stern faces was probably justified. Since Minseok had always been too short on money to go to an actual game he’d never experienced any physical fan conflicts himself but it was common knowledge that they could get ugly very quickly.

 

As he let his eyes skim over the masses of people around him his view got caught up on a particular fan who was busy tying a red FC Seoul scarf around his forehead, messing up his rather aggressively bleached hair. The guy’s face appeared to be completely painted in red and white stripes, all the way down to his neck disappearing in the collar of an official fan jersey, another scarf loosely hanging off his shoulders while scarf number three and four were tied around each of his arms. Minseok tried not to cringe at the way the guy’s left arm’s scarf was getting caught up in the zipper of his backpack; there were going to be loose strings for sure.

 

A bag filled with long sticks, some visibly covered in red cloth, leaned against his leg and Minseok figured they had to be rolled-up flags. All in all the fan looked like the type to cause trouble so Minseok wasn’t really sure why he was still staring.

 

When the guy lowered his arms Minseok was surprised to see a pair of rather harmless looking large doe eyes appear on the fan's colourful face. He almost felt guilty for judging the other to be a troublemaker but with the way the nearest security guard carefully glanced at the guy he apparently wasn’t the only one to do so.

 

Finally averting his eyes from the fan Minseok instead looked down on himself, feeling awfully self-conscious in comparison. He owned neither a jersey nor a scarf, so he had simply thrown on the reddest T-shirt his wardrobe had to offer. From the distance the baggy Coca Cola shirt would do the trick and blend in, he hoped. The only article of actual merchandise he owned was a small red and white keychain that was proudly dangling from the zipper of his bag.

 

In addition to his lack of money to spend on fan goods without feeling irresponsible Minseok had only found out he would even get to attend the game half a week ago, so there hadn’t been much time for preparation. Hopefully it wasn’t too obvious that the slightly pinkish red stripes on his cheeks were actually his sister’s favourite liquid lipstick.

 

Thinking back to the fateful Wednesday when he'd found out that one of his biggest dreams would actually become a reality he still couldn’t believe it. As a fan since childhood but coming from a family that wasn’t well off he’d long come to terms with the sad reality that personally attending a match was to stay somewhere in his wildest dreams. So when he’d received a call from the local radio station telling him that he’d won a ticket for the weekend game he’d almost dropped his phone live on air. After fruitlessly participating in countless quizzes and giveaway events for years actually winning one was beyond his ability to comprehend at the time.

 

Yet here he was, nervously picking away at the corners of his ticket with sweaty fingers as the line slowly started to move towards the entrance.

 

_____________

 

Minseok had never in his life been so excited to find himself in a small, uncomfortable plastic seat. He probably looked like an idiot with the way he was openly gaping at his surroundings but he just couldn’t help it; if the stadium was intimidating from the outside it was simply mind-blowing from the inside.

 

Rows upon rows of bleachers were stacked close to each other, providing space for thousands of excited fans. Masses of people were moving across the tribunes in order to get to their assigned blocks, the ones in the top ranks appearing like nothing but colourful ants in the distance. Huge screens were currently showing sportswear advertisements featuring the very same players that were now warming up and stretching on the huge rectangular field in the center of the stadium, preparing for the match.

 

When the players came jogging along Minseok’s end of the field he could see their faces without even having to squint - their determined expressions made him feel all bubbly - as he was seated right behind one of the goals, just a few rows up from the field. Seeing Kim Jongdae and Byun Baekhyun high-five right as they passed by him had him bounce a little (or a lot) in his seat in excitement.

 

Minseok nervously chewed on his lower lip while keeping his eyes wide open, scared everything would somehow fall apart if he looked away for even just a second.

 

His blank staring at the goalkeepers stretching their arms - how did Park Chanyeol’s limbs look even longer in real life than they did on TV - was suddenly interrupted by a big blur of red stopping in its tracks right in front of him. Within the few seconds it took the fan to adjust his multiple FC Seoul logo plastered bags and sit down on the seat to Minseok’s feet the latter quickly realized that it was the same guy from before, only his face paint now slightly smudged. 

 

Minseok couldn’t blame him for the face paint part though, he himself had quite a hard time suppressing the need to wipe at his sweaty face in the humid air as well and the packed crowd wasn’t making things any better. His sister had winked and claimed the lipstick to be “a hundred percent kiss-proof” but it was probably best to be careful anyways. 

 

Then again flawless face paint was pretty far down on his list of priorities right now because in that very moment the advertisements faded out, introductional music boomed across the stadium and the crowd roared up around him as the opening ceremony began. He’d seen this a million times on TV but despite knowing that the whole opening process was a pretty brief affair it felt like forever and yet like a mere minute at the same time.

 

He was so engrossed into it that he barely even noticed the guy in front of him curse about being “almost late, ah shit” as he unpacked one of his bags and started sorting through the sticks and cloth Minseok had noticed earlier.

 

The stadium was humming in anticipation when the players shook hands and eventually moved into position for kick-off. Minseok’s heartbeat hadn't been this fast since his first kiss back in 9th grade. He hastily blinked away the tears of sheer excitement burning behind his eyes, took a deep breath and got ready to scream his lungs out along with the rest of the crowd when the ball was placed on the field and the referee raised the whistle to his mouth.

 

Minseok felt like an absolute mess, in just a few seconds he'd get to see the kick-off of FC Seoul in the semi-final. The shrill screech of the whistle sounded through the stadium, the crowd around him erupted in screams and Minseok saw - red.

 

Red?

 

Rapidly blinking it took him a few seconds to process the fact that the stadium and the game were still very much there, the loud cheers resonating in his head proving it, yet all he could see was red. A big red piece of cloth to be specific, held together by long sticks in the hands of the guy in front of him.

 

That dude had to be kidding?

 

Out of the corner of his eye he could see players moving on the screens at the top of the ranks, the commentator’s voice calling out names Minseok had pretty much engraved into his brain at this point, yet all he could see with his own eyes was the back of a big, messily painted banner.

 

Unsure of what to do Minseok awkwardly shifted around in his seat. He couldn't really lean far enough to either side to look around the banner if he didn't want it to result in him sitting on anyone's lap so he ended up trying to duck down to look underneath it. However, the guy in front of him kept hectically bouncing in his seat while he was screaming like a madman, making the banner constantly move around.

 

For a few minutes Minseok kept twisting and crouching in his seat, desperate to see even just glimpses of the actual game happening while constantly glancing at the screens to keep track of what was happening. His attempts of growingly desperate “Excuse me”’s got him nothing but pitying looks from the fans beside him as the banner guy just kept shouting at the players’ every moves.

 

“I'm sorry, but could you-”

 

“YES BYUN TO THE LEFT, GO GO GO!!”

 

“Uh, excuse me-”

 

“PASS THE BALL, PASS TO KIM HE'S CLEARLY FREE!!”

 

Minseok clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. He was an adult, no need for aggressiveness, he would deal with this fan like the mature grown-up he was. The guy was clearly just caught up in the game, nothing wrong with being passionate.

 

“Could you please-”

 

“WHAT IS THE REFEREE EVEN DOING, THAT WAS OBVIOUSLY A FOUL!! PENALTY!!”

 

Adult, Mature, Grown-up, he chanted in his head.

 

As the minutes went by and the guy just kept ignoring him, even when he'd started to shyly tap the other's shoulder from behind, frustration started to build up inside Minseok. Was he seriously going to let his one chance at watching a big live match go to waste like this?

 

“Hey” he said once again, this time dropping the polite tone and loud enough to make the people around him stare. He couldn't bring himself to care though as he decidedly grabbed the guy’s shoulder. The action made the latter jump in surprise and he finally turned around to Minseok, a confused and slightly annoyed expression plastered across his face.

“What?” the guy blurted, clearly irritated. His large brown eyes that were now giving Minseok a sceptical once-over were actually kind of pretty close up. The frown etched into his features did not exactly make him appear very approachable though. 

 

“Could you please take down that banner, I can't see anything.” Minseok replied, at this point not bothering to not sugar-coat his request. Best to make sure the message got across.

 

The guy looked taken aback for a second and merely blinked. Had he not once considered what the enormous thing would do to the people behind it? Minseok was starting to get fed up with the other’s obnoxiousness. He had to suppress an annoyed sneer when the guy just kept looking back and forth between Minseok and his banner, clearly pondering, frown staying put on his face.

 

“I'd like to actually see what's going on, you know, and you're making that pretty difficult right now.” he continued when the fan didn't speak up. That seemed to only annoy the guy though because his frown simply deepened as he mumbled something along the lines of “Don't be so dramatic, chill man” and started turning back towards the game.

 

Oh no, Minseok definitely wasn't having that.

 

Before the guy could re-adjust himself in his seat Minseok grabbed his shoulder once again, this time firmer than before as he pulled the fan right back around to face him, wide doe eyes staring at him in a mixture of surprise and anger. 

 

Usually Minseok was a very pacifistic and conflict-avoiding person but if this man was absolutely not going to get between Minseok and FC Seoul in the semi final match.

 

The nerve of this guy.

 

“Well, sorry for being ‘dramatic’ but I didn't go to the stadium to watch ninety minutes of the back of your stupid banner!” he spat. Minseok's inner politeness cringed at his comment but overall he couldn't help but feel a tiny spark of satisfaction at the other’s now deeply offended face.

 

The feeling didn't last long however when instead of giving in the guy just grabbed his banner tighter and started firing back, visibly agitated.

 

“This banner is a special encouraging message for the team! Sorry for wanting to show my support!” the guy all but hissed. He’d clearly taken the insult of the banner to heart, oops. "Although I'm not sure you’d properly grasp the concept of that, Mr. Snack Bar” he murmured as an afterthought, eyes briefly flickering to Minseok’s Coca Cola shirt. It stung, even if Minseok didn't want to admit it to himself, so he immediately rebutted.

 

“I get that you want to support the team - believe me, you look the part - but how about not ruining other fans’ days doing it” he half-shouted over a wave of boos going through the stadium; according to the screens above them Byun had just gotten a yellow card.

 

The guy huffed in annoyance, his eyes going back and forth between Minseok and one of the screens. “Can you not be so overdramatic, if it’s that bad just look at the screens or something. Should be fine for a casual fan like you” he shouted back and Minseok really wanted to smack that stupid frown off the guy’s face.

 

“A ‘casual fan like me’? Are you implying I'm less of a fan than you or what?!” Now Minseok was seriously angry, angry enough to not care about the growing number of stares sent their way from the surrounding seats.

 

The guy scoffed again, a hint of confusion is his eyes. “Is that even a question? It's pretty damn obvious, at least I'm willing to put some effort into supporting my team, contrary to some other people!”

 

“I didn't know that the amount of money spent on buying useless banners that restrict other people's sight defined my worth as a fan!” Minseok shot back agitatedly.

 

“Well joke’s on you man, since I actually care about the team I painted this myself!” banner-guy now screamed, clutching his apparently self-made creation, the top part of it swaying dangerously.

 

“Oh really, that explains why it looks so shitty!” Minseok screamed right back. The back of his mind told him that he'd just delivered a very low blow but he was way too mad to care.

 

Judging by the way the guy pretty much exploded on him he'd clearly hit a nerve. “I spent all week making this thing, I won't take stupid criticism from a guy who's probably embarrassed to leave his house with as much as a freaking support scarf! I see fake fans like you all the time, get off your high horse, man!” the fan yelled so loudly that Minseok saw people several rows below them turn around to look at them as the guy roughly grabbed the front of Minseok’s shirt to rackedly pull him down towards himself.

 

Neither of them noticed the way the surrounding people tried to point out that the banner was now dangerously wobbling around, only being held up by one stick, the other carelessly swinging around due to the banner guy’s hand now being busy clinging to Minseok’s shirt.

 

Trying his best to ignore the bits of saliva landing on his face Minseok roughly shoved the guy away from him - he might’ve heard slight ripping noises coming from his shirt - only to grip one of the many scarf ends hanging off the other to yankedly pull him up to himself.

 

“And who the hell are you to judge what horse I'm sitting on, maybe if you tried to convert a couple of those excess scarves into IQ points you'd realize that not everyone is as privileged as your obnoxious ass!”

 

The guy's sharp glare told Minseok that the other was about to spit out a comeback when shrill screams to his left interrupted their increasingly heated argument. Apparently the scarf in Minseok’s hand was connected to the last arm of the guy holding up the banner, causing it to sway around and almost crash into the people next to them.

 

Before Minseok could fully comprehend the situation he felt himself being dragged out of his seat by a pair of security guards, only just able to confusedly grab his bag.

 

He could hear his blood pulsating in his ears from the adrenaline and only managed to steal a few glances at the field before he was not-so gently escorted away from the bleachers. Out of the corner of his eye he could see another pair of guards dragging along the banner guy who was sloppily holding onto his bags, banner nowhere in sight.

 

As they made their way past the bleachers and down a short, empty hallway a grumpy looking guard spoke up, in a tone that suggested he was at least partially reciting something, “Due to problematic behaviour and violation of the stadium policies we can't allow you two to stay up in the crowd.”

 

Minseok’s head was swimming. Violation of stadium policies? All he'd wanted was to watch the game-

 

“To prevent further complications we have to ask you to spend the rest of the game in one of the safety rooms.” another guard, this one younger and more friendly-faced, said and Minseok found himself being semi-gently shoved into a plain grey room. At closer inspection it looked suspiciously like a cell and when he turned around he was horrified to see a door with a small window in it close behind him.

 

“Sorry guys, next time just don't cause trouble, yeah? You're out again shortly after the game, we won't keep you locked up forever.” the nicer looking guard who had come into the cell with them said with a partly exhausted, partly sympathetic look as he pulled a notebook out of his pocket and began to flip through it.

 

Blinking Minseok looked around. Next to him stood the banner guy, looking about as horrified as Minseok felt. Apart from a beer-bellied, pretty drunken appearing man in an FC Seoul jersey sleeping on an uncomfortable-looking bench and a plain toilet merely separated from the rest of the rest of the room by a little concrete wall the room was empty.

 

At least it looked clean enough, Minseok noted, although that didn't really help his case.

 

“This- This can't be!” banner-guy began to protest, taking a step towards the door. “I was just minding my own business when he suddenly started picking on me-”

 

“Well yeah, maybe if you hadn’t refused to stop shoving your giant banner right in my face as you did for the entire first quarter I wouldn't have had to-”

 

“That’s not even-”

 

“Stop.” the guard said with a raised voice. “I don't care who did what, complaining won’t get you anywhere at the moment. Rules are rules. We can’t allow safety hazards like this, it’s the policy. Now if you’d be cooperative enough to give me your names and show me your IDs please?” He raised a pen in one hand and his notebook in the other.

 

“What’s this for? Are we going to get banned or something?!” banner-guy asked with growing panic evident in his voice. “You can’t do that, I didn’t do anything! Where even is the point in locking us up together, that doesn't even make sense! He's the one who-”

 

“Please calm down, sir!” he got interrupted. “Unfortunately we only have two safety rooms to seperate fans from both teams, so this will have to do. It's not exactly every day that we get fans from one team go at each other's throats after all. I only need your validated Names and ID numbers to add them to our register. You’ll be listed there with one strike for this. Three strikes may eventually result in a ban from the stadium so if you behave well from now on there’s no reason to worry. So please, your names and IDs?”

 

Banner-guy was still visibly fuming so Minseok decided to at least attempt damage control where it was still possible and scrambled for his ID card.

 

“Kim Minseok” he said and awkwardly held out his ID, the guard taking it and writing something down on his notebook. He felt embarrassed about causing such a havoc now that he thought about it. Even if it was still obviously banner-guy’s fault.

 

Banner-guy watched them with a sour expression, well-shaped eyebrows scrunched together unhappily. When the guard eventually turned towards him expectantly he gave in, pulled an ID out of his official FC Seoul wallet (Minseok wondered whether the guy owned any clothes or accessories in colours other than red and white) and murmured “Lu Han”.

 

“Now maybe just try to keep it cool and not wake up your cellmate over there, he wasn't exactly in a good mood when we put him in.” the guard advised when he was done noting down the guy’s - Lu Han’s - information and nodded towards the man on the bench who chose that exact moment to let out a particularly audible snore. He left and closed the door behind himself, leaving them in uncomfortable silence apart from the muffled cheers of the now distant crowd.

 

Lu Han groaned in annoyance and slid down on the wall the furthest away from the sleeping man, legs stretched out on the ground and arms crossed. After a few seconds of mental back-and-forth Minseok reluctantly chose the same wall and sat down in front of it, a few safety meters away from Lu Han, and pulled his knees up to his body.

 

“That wouldn't have happened if you hadn't thrown such a fit over nothing.” Lu Han muttered but with less venom than before.

 

“It wouldn't have happened if you'd considered that other people want to actually see the players as well.” Minseok contered quietly, feeling too exhausted to put up another fight. He felt ridiculous for causing such a mess. Was he really that kind of fan? He hugged his knees closer to his chest and looked down, curling up into a ball. He felt small, way too small to be in a place like this, and out of place. Maybe he never should've left his cluttered living room. 

 

Lu Han audibly shuffled around on the floor. “...Was it really that bad?” he silently asked and Minseok was surprised at the now slightly evident guilt alongside the weaker but still remaining annoyance in his tone.

 

Minseok responded with a tired nod, not sure if the other even saw it or not.

 

The cheers went up and down, back and forth, in a seemingly random pattern that Minseok could only vaguely try to assign meaning to. After what felt like forever the crowd got comparatively silent and Minseok figured the game had to be on half-time break. He was pretty sure they would have noticed a goal happening - none of the cheering so far had been intense enough for a goal, at least if Minseok interpreted it correctly - so the score had to most likely be at 0:0 still.

 

The silence began to feel increasingly heavy in the small room and Minseok was relieved when eventually the distant cheers started to resonate through the air again, indicating the beginning of the second half and providing at least some background noise again.

 

He felt like a complete joke, sitting locked up in a stupid cell (or "safety room", not that it made him feel any better) right next to the actual game happening, so close to what he'd dreamed of since elementary school and yet he'd screwed everything up royally. He didn't even solely blame Lu Han at this point anymore, his peace-loving self finally regaining control of himself; they'd both acted like idiots. 

 

He side-eyed Lu Han who was busy pulling at the fuzzy ends of the scarf around his neck. When a wave of boos and whistles resonated through the room louder than anything they’d heard so far Lu Han looked up and their eyes met briefly before Minseok hastily turned away. 

 

The noise started to die down and Minseok chewed on his lip; no matter how shitty his situation was, he still wanted to know what was going on. It was the semi-final after all, meaning the winner would get a chance of winning the championship this season. The last time FC Seoul had made it as far as into the final had been when Minseok was in 3rd grade. Back then they'd lost with a quite tragic 0:4 score so damn him if he didn't want his team to finally win the cup this year.

 

Unwilling to initiate uncomfortable eye contact a second time he made a point not to look when he heard Lu Han searching through his backpack next to him. Barely a minute after the shuffling a loud swear interrupted the awkward silence and Minseok turned to look after all, seeing the other scroll on his phone.

 

Under different circumstances he might have judged Lu Han for owning a caseless iPhone X with a cracked screen - people should treat valuable objects with caution - but when he heard his next words the damaged glass was gone from his mind quickly.

 

“Byun got red? RED?!” Lu Han exclaimed, audibly shocked. The man on the bench shifted a bit but neither of the two paid him any mind, not right now. Minseok thought he might’ve just gotten an explanation for the intense booing earlier. His throat suddenly felt dry.

 

“What did you say? Byun got what?! What happened??” he asked and hurriedly shuffled closer to try and get a better glance at the phone's screen, ignoring the potential awkwardness. This was serious.

 

“Byun got- Byun got a red card two minutes ago, they sent him off the field!” Lu Han stuttered with a horrified expression and all but shoved his phone into Minseok’s face, looking at him with almost pleading eyes as if asking him to tell him he was wrong.

 

Minseok grabbed the other's wrist to stop his hand from shaking and hold the phone still but it turned out that his own hand was just as shaky as his cellmate’s. 

 

“Byun got a red card. Oh my god. Why? What happened??” he asked again instead, letting go of the other's hand. Lu Han looked back at his phone and squinted, furrowing his eyebrows angrily.

 

“It doesn't say anywhere, just that he got red. In the 57th minute. What even- there's no way-” Lu Han was visibly at loss for words.

 

“What the heck” Minseok said, feeling numb. He couldn't believe this. “Like Byun would be stupid enough to get himself banned now - and less than 60 minutes in!”

 

He wasn't exactly able to form coherent sentences right now; this was bad. Bad as in Really Bad. Without their star center forward and outnumbered in players FC Seoul’s chances to win the game had just decreased significantly. Red card meant a block from the match and Minseok’s stomach churned thinking about how this would affect their score chances. And to top it off-

 

“Shit. Even if they still win this now somehow…” Lu Han started and Minseok knew that they'd thought of the same thing.

 

“...Byun will still be banned in the final.” Minseok finished. He gulped. Of course Byun wasn't the only good player on the team - Minseok supported a quality team, thank you very much - but he'd been one of their key players all throughout this season, many of their formations and tactics partially relied on him.

 

“The score is still even but without Byun their offence has just weakened by a lot. Busan doesn't have the strongest defence but it'll be hard to break through like this, especially with being outnumbered now.” Lu Han murmured, again starting to play around with one of his scarves subconsciously. It was actually a little bit cute.

 

Minseok mentally slapped himself for the last thought and nodded slowly. “I'm guessing they'll try to work around it with the midfielders. Move Oh further to the front probably.”

 

The other looked a bit surprised at Minseok continuing his thought process but eventually hummed in agreement.

 

“Or actually” Lu Han started after a second, “they could switch in Zhang for Do and send him to the front. With Oh in the front the center would suffer, they need him there.”

 

Minseok pondered over it for a few seconds. “In theory, yes.” he reluctantly agreed. “But I'm not sure if they'd risk it. Zhang’s injury only just healed, I don't think they'll make him play right at the front now.”

 

With a conversation started, the minutes began to trickle by faster and Minseok found himself actually appreciating the other's company. The more they talked, discussing possible outcomes or changes in tactics and line-up, the more Minseok felt like they might actually be not that different.

 

He quickly learned that Lu Han was a die-hard admirer of Oh Sehun, FC Seoul’s upcoming midfield sensation (“The guy is pure talent on legs, I'm telling you, he'll play for the national team one day!”). At the same time Minseok felt delighted to have someone to fanboy to about Kim Jongdae's wickedly intricate passes (“He just doesn't get the credit he deserves! His level of precision is something else entirely!”).

 

After a while, as his cellmate was just about to elaborate on why Kim Junmyeon was FC Seoul's best team captain since at least the mid nineties, they were suddenly interrupted by loud cheers sounding through their room, the distant voices melting together into a huge mess of unidentifiable euphoria.

 

Minseok felt chills running down his spine as he and Lu Han looked at each other, eyes equally wide open. Someone had to have just scored a goal, an impressive one at that, judging by the way the cheers kept coming. The question was only which team had scored - a question that could potentially decide the match.

 

When the cheers slowly started to die down again they both kept to shell-shocked silence for another few seconds. Minseok could feel a lump in his throat, blood rushing through his ears.

 

When Lu Han eventually blinked and hastily grabbed his phone with shaky fingers Minseok shuffled even closer. He didn't care anymore that this was the guy that had ruined his once-in-a-lifetime game experience. Right now they were both simply fans, dying to know if their team had just potentially lost the championship or taken a step towards the final.

 

“Goal by Park” Lu Han whispered and Minseok felt his heart drop. No Park among FC Seoul’s field players.

 

And then it beat again. Cautiously and unbelieving.

 

Not only was there no Park in FC Seoul’s offence, midfield or defense, there wasn't one in Busan ‘94’s entire team either. In fact, the only Park currently on the field was-

 

“68TH MINUTE, FC SEOUL, GOAL BY PARK!”

 

“BUT HE'S THE GOALKEEPER!”

 

"I KNOW THAT!"

 

What the fuck.

 

Minseok once again found himself face to screen with Lu Han's phone.

 

68'' | FC Seoul 1:0 Busan '94 | [Goal by PARK]

 

He screamed. Lu Han screamed too. The drunk man fell off the bench but no one cared.

 

“HOW DID HE EVEN-” Lu Han started, frantically scrolling through his phone but apparently unable to find any details.

 

Minseok was speechless. Gangly goalkeeper Park Chanyeol was a relatively new addition to the team, only having been traded over from a lower league team at the beginning of the season, but while he was good at what he did Minseok surely hadn't expected whatever was happening right now.

 

Judging by the way Lu Han grabbed his shoulders and started violently shaking him back and forth neither had the other.

 

“I - CAN'T - BELIEVE - THIS - PARK - YOU - SNEAKY - BASTARD!” Lu Han yelled with each shake, his voice slowly going hoarse. Minseok instinctively grabbed Lu Han’s shoulders as well and started shaking him in return, joining in on his now gibberish yells, increasing his power the more reality was sinking in. He only let go of the other's (nicely smooth feeling) Jersey once they'd accidentally knocked their heads together painfully.

 

Eventually they dropped down against the wall next to each other. There was no safe distance anymore; Minseok felt Lu Han’s shoulder bumping against his as this cellmate erupted in wheezing, disbelieving laughs. At first Minseok felt a bit (very) weirded out but after a few moments he felt breathless chuckles build up and erupt from his chest as well as the absurdity of his whole situation began to feel real. 

 

“Fifteen minutes to go. If our defense holds up now we're in the final.”, Lu Han eventually said, checking his phone once they both had calmed down to somewhat stable breathing again.

 

“I still can't believe this. Park better keep doing well now, we can't afford to let Busan even out the score.” Minseok contributed.

 

“Somehow I believe Park can do his job.” Lu Han said and chuckled weakly. “What a game.”

 

Minseok nodded in affirmation. What a game indeed.

 

“Ugh, it sucks so much to be stuck down here! We could've seen a goal scored by the freaking keeper in the semi-final, how sick is that!” Lu Han continued, a mixture of excitement and disappointment now evident in his voice.

 

Minseok just nodded again, this time less enthusiastic. He really didn't want to think about how much of a missed opportunity all of this was. He already knew he'd be upset at himself over it forever.

 

The next ten minutes crept by excruciatingly slow, both of them attentively listening to the crowds cheering growing louder and more silent again. Every time a wave of cheers swept through the concrete walls they exchanged alarmed looks but the noises always died down too quickly for a goal to have happened. Lu Han updated Minseok about the time at least twice per minute which made it pass by even slower. He didn't have the heart to tell him to stop.

 

“Five more minutes.” Lu Han murmured and rubbed at his face nervously, frowning when he noticed his fingers taking off layers of colour. Minseok silently handed him a paper towel from his backpack, though unsure of how helpful it would be with the trainwreck that was the mix of smudged paint and sweat on the other’s face. Most people would have probably been creeped out by the slightly crazed-looking expression on Lu Han’s face but Minseok didn't think he himself looked any better right now, his jaw hurting from clenching his teeth in suspension.

“Five minutes and then additional time, let's guess three minutes.” Minseok continued Lu Han’s trail of thought. “If things go well now we're in the final in ten minutes.”

 

They were so close, it felt unreal.

 

Lu Han an looked up and their eyes met.

 

“I became a fan a few months after they lost in the final last time.” Lu Han said, voice starting to get choked-up. “I've imagined this so many times.” He began blinking profusely.

 

Minseok understood him. Football fans were often ridiculed for being overly obsessed with “just a game” but Minseok had stopped caring about that years ago; the emotional investment that came with being a fan was no joke. He swallowed the lump that was starting to form in his throat.

 

“I remember that game. I pretended to be sick and skipped my cousin's birthday party to watch it on TV.” Minseok smiled slightly at the memory. “I cried the whole day afterwards and my mum almost called an ambulance when she came home to me sobbing in a corner. When she found out what actually happened I got grounded for a week.” He chuckled as he continued, “I think my cousin is still pissed at me about that actually, she tries to guilt-trip me with it every time she wants something from me.”

 

Lu Han blinked a few times and then let out a bellowing laugh.

 

“Does it work?”

 

“What?”

 

“Her guilt-tripping you. Does it work?”

 

“I had priorities that day. No regrets.”

 

They exchanged glances and - after a few seconds - burst out laughing. Minseok didn't even know what was so funny and he was pretty sure that Lu Han didn't either. The other's shining eyes and bright laugh were just infectious, the scrunched up expression his face formed when laughing oddly endearing. It seemed absurd that just an hour ago they'd been at each other's throats.

 

Their temporary happy bubble was harshly popped when their laughs were suddenly drowned out by a massive wave of cheers. A cold shiver went down Minseok’s spine as the smile froze on his face, Lu Han’s widened eyes looking as panicked as Minseok felt. Another goal, no doubt.

 

But for which team?

 

After a few seconds of both of them sitting still in shock Lu Han moved to grab his phone, almost dropping it, and frantically swiped down the cracked screen to refresh the site. 

 

Minseok just sat still and gripped his own arms, nails digging into his skin harshly. Maybe they had celebrated too early. The entire game could’ve just been turned around, the championship at stake.

 

When Lu Han stopped refreshing he felt like his heart skipped a beat.

 

“What happened?” Minseok’s voice sounded weak but he couldn't bring himself to feel pathetic over it.

 

Lu Han looked back and forth between Minseok and his screen with wide eyes. Minseok saw him gulp as Lu Han clutched his phone tighter.

 

“Oh.”, Lu Han said.

 

“Oh?”

 

“Oh!”

 

Minseok blinked.

 

“Oh as in-”

 

“FC SEOUL, GOAL BY OH!” Lu Han’s voice cracked but Minseok understood his words nonetheless, relief washing over him like a wave of hot water as he joined in with the screaming. He wasn't sure what he was even saying but he could make out Lu Han’s “I told you this man was everything, Minseok!” as well as other exclamations of worship towards Oh Sehun in the background.

 

Only a few minutes left and two goals in the lead, they'd almost made it. Minseok knew that one was never supposed to celebrate before the final whistle but he couldn't help the bubbly feeling of euphoria rising up in his chest.

 

He was just trying to somehow calm down and actually string words together in proper sentences instead of unintelligible gibberish when he was roughly pulled out of his verbal struggle and into a hug.

 

Skinny arms went around his back and Minseok blinked in surprise as the air got pressed out of his lungs. Lu Han smelled like halloween face paint and hairspray, the bleach blonde strands poking Minseok’s neck feeling slightly scratchy. He also smelled slightly like sweat but Minseok couldn’t care less at the moment; he was probably the same anyways. After the few seconds it took Minseok to recollect himself he lifted his own arms and threw them around the other in return, feeling that they weren’t strangers anymore. Lu Han’s shoulders felt slimmer and yet stronger than Minseok had been expecting.

 

They were going to make it to the final, they were almost there. Minseok felt overwhelmed as he tried to take it all in; he'd been waiting for this for over a decade and now it was almost happening. And he was there - not actually seeing the players but he still felt closer and more connected than ever.

 

He fought fought down yet another lump in his throat and blinked harshly, squeezing Lu Han tighter, not willing to have an emotional freak-out now. Lu Han responded by squeezing back even harder - where in the world did all of that even come from, the guy looked rather scrawny - and Minseok only broke away when he started becoming genuinely concerned about the state of his ribcage.

 

They silently leaned against each other for a minute, mentally following the ups and downs of the cheering in the background. When Lu Han checked his phone again they were both surprised to find out that they were already a minute into the additional time.

 

“Ready to officially become a finalist in two minutes?” Lu Han asked, failing hilariously at suppressing a grin, his dark eyes shining brightly.

 

“Never been more ready.” Minseok replied with a crooked smile and only then realized that it was actually true. His first stadium experience had been nothing like he imagined and while he did still feel disappointment at missing the game he also felt strangely content.

 

The last minutes crept by slower and yet faster than before, Minseok leaning against Lu Han’s side as their eyes didn’t leave the cracked iPhone screen, Lu Han’s thumb moving to refresh the score almost religiously. The crowd’s noise still echoed through the room but Minseok barely heard it over their combined breathing and his own thunderous heartbeat. He briefly wondered if Lu Han could feel it against his arm.

 

The minute digit changed one time and eventually, another time. The cell drowned in triumphant distant screams, the website displayed 2:0 as the final score and the game was over.

 

Minseok blinked and blinked again when he felt his sight getting blurry, his eyes damp. They had really made it. He felt like he should scream out loud in victory and yet all he managed was a wobbly smile as he felt a wave of emotions overtaking him. This was what he’d dreamed of all his life, it was happening, and it was so different from what he’d always pictured in his mind. But even so, as he noticed the phone going black and shaking in Lu Han’s trembling hand, it was a memory he knew he’d cherish forever, no matter how unconventional this experience had turned out to be.

 

Perhaps he should be feeling regretful and angry at himself and the world, but when he was pulled into yet another bone-crushing hug he couldn’t stop his smile from growing wider until his cheeks hurt. Lu Han started half sobbing and half laughing into his shoulder and Minseok just wanted the moment to last forever.

 

When they eventually pulled apart Lu Han threw an arm around his shoulder and Minseok, for the first time that day, realized that he belonged. Right there, right then, no matter his budget or lack of merchandise collection. He'd come to the right place, supported the right team and was part of the right fans.

 

Minseok wanted to talk about so many things, tell Lu Han everything this moment meant to him, but he couldn’t find any words. Lu Han apparently couldn’t either and so they just sat there for a few minutes, listening to the crowd slowly quieting down.

 

“I got paint on your shirt.” Lu Han murmured after a while and cast a look at where he’d previously hid his face, now messier than ever with the addition of irregular tear streaks down his cheeks. “Sorry about that. Your paint looks flawless though, you need to tell me what brand that is.” he rambled on.

 

Minseok let out a bellowing laugh as he remembered the tube of borrowed lipstick in his backpack and settled for a simple “It’s alright, it’s an old shirt.”

 

“I’m sure it’ll wash out easily too. You should really get a jersey though. I know that some people look at you weirdly but it’s really worth it and the quality is seriously good, plus they’re super comfortable.” Lu Han absentmindedly continued.

 

“They look really great” Minseok agreed, “but I can’t really afford one. The official ones are expensive so I’d feel irresponsible buying one, but I don’t want to get a fake either. Maybe for Christmas.”

 

Lu Han looked taken aback and gave Minseok a not-so-subtle once-over that made the latter shift a bit nervously. “I’m, I didn’t-” Lu Han started and looked up at Minseok apologetically. “I’m sorry for what I’ve said before about, y’know. The whole fake fan thing. I was a bit of a dick.”

 

Minseok just smiled lightly. “I get why you would think that, I guess. It sucks sometimes but I’m just glad I got to be here. Even if it wasn’t really how I imagined.”

 

They both laughed.

 

“I hope you don’t mind me asking,” Lu Han asked hesitantly, “but how come you got here? Did you save up for a long time?”

 

Minseok wasn’t sure if he should be offended but he only chuckled. “It’s alright. I just got really lucky.” He shook his head disbelievingly thinking back on it. “I won a ticket at some radio quiz. For a really dumb question even, it was about the difference between cucumbers and zucchinis.”

 

Lu Han blinked and nodded in understanding, then furrowed his eyebrows. “What actually is the difference between cucumbers and zucchinis?”

 

“Like hell do I know, I asked my mum.”

 

Lu Han gave him a playful squint. “Cheater.”

 

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.” Minseok concluded and attempted to flick Lu Han’s forehead that was still covered by the scarf around his head.

 

The gesture seemed to have reminded Lu Han about the existence of the garment in the first place. After a brief moment of hesitation he raised his hands and untied it, wincing comically when he pulled at a few strands of bleached hair that had been caught up in the knot. Minseok chuckled at the scene until he abruptly held his breath when Lu Han pulled the scarf around Minseok’s neck, careful to make the emblems and font on it show as good as possible, finishing with a satisfied smile. “There you go. Suits you perfectly!”

 

Minseok carefully lifted the ends of the knit fabric up to gape at the neat logo, the frayed out ends tickling his wrists. The material felt soft and warm against his skin, just like he'd always imagined back when he used to shoot jealous glances at the fans on tv who wore them all the time.

 

“I mean, it’s not new of course. And actually you might wanna wash it because I’m pretty sure there’s face paint on it. But I thought, you know. It’s an apology for kinda… messing up today.” he added, growing sheepish at Minseok’s stunned silence.

 

Minseok could only continue to gape like a fish out of water. He wanted to tell Lu Han that it wasn’t his fault alone, that this was too much to accept, that he wasn’t upset anymore, but in the end all he managed was a choked “Thank you.”

 

It wasn’t much, just two little words, but he said them with all the sincerity he could muster, and from the way Lu Han’s eyes shifted from nervous to smiling he knew that his cellmate - his friend? - had understood.

 

Reality fell back into place when the door opened loudly, the (somehow still passed out) drunk man groaned quietly from his corner and the guard from earlier gave them a funny look from the hallway.

 

“You’re free to go.” the guard said and gestured in the direction of the exit signs on the hallway walls.

 

The by now familiar weight of Lu Han’s arm lifted off his shoulders as they gathered their things and made their way out of the cell. Only the seemingly loud noise of their footsteps made Minseok realize how quiet the stadium had become; most fans were probably on their way into the city to celebrate or travelling home already.

 

When they stepped out onto the asphalt in front of the building Minseok didn’t know how to feel. He looked up at the outer walls of the stadium again, now covered in the warm glow of the golden evening sun. Still mighty, still intimidating, but it no longer felt untouchable.

 

“What’re you looking at?”, Lu Han asked curiously and looked up at the stadium as well, as if looking for something out of the ordinary about it. Minseok wondered how many times the other had been here before to be this nonchalant about something so magnificent.

 

“Just thinking about how everything is much more amazing in real life.”, Minseok said. “It’s great on TV and online and all but the real deal is just”, just what? Minseok didn't have any words. “Just wow.”

 

“Today was your first time at a live match”, Lu Han realized, eyes lighting up in understanding and soon shifting to fondness. “Nothing’s as good as the real thing. My family thinks I’m a bit obsessed but this is where I love to be the most.”

 

Minseok nodded in agreement. “I’ll definitely come back here one day.” He really would. He wasn’t sure how or when but he’d make it back here. With a crooked smile and a laugh he added, “And then I’ll actually watch the game.”

 

He was a bit taken aback when Lu Han began looking dejected instead of laughing along.

 

“I’m sorry your one chance turned out this way.” he said, guilt in his voice.

 

Minseok put a hand on his shoulder and pulled his new scarf tighter around his neck. “Don’t feel bad. Of course I was really disappointed at first. And it kind of was a missed opportunity. But I’m not mad anymore. It’s probably weird but I actually had a great time today.” He grinned as he continued, “If I had to be stuck with a stubborn weirdo today I’m glad it was you. You’re actually not that bad.”

 

Lu Han looked at Minseok with big eyes as he bit his lip in consideration.

 

“We should go to another match together.” he declared. “My aunt’s boyfriend works in ticket sale. Let’s go watch the final together. I’ll treat you.”

 

Minseok gaped. Was this a joke? Were there hidden cameras? Did Lu Han seriously just offer to treat him an incredibly sought-after and incredibly overpriced stadium ticket? He couldn't possibly mean it.

 

“No.”

 

Lu Han visibly deflated. He looked like a kicked puppy. Minseok’s heart couldn’t take it.

 

“If you’re actually being serious, it’s just- I’m not a charity case, you know. I don’t know if you’re trying to make up for today but” he grabbed his newly acquired scarf carefully, “you already gave me this and I’m more than thankful. We were both dumb today, I just can’t accept something like that.”

 

Lu Han looked troubled; he was clearly not giving up yet.

 

“Then what if I’m asking to take you on a date and the final match just happens to be what I have in mind for it?”

 

Minseok certainly had not been expecting that. His mind went haywire as he watched the colour of the paint-free parts of Lu Han’s cheeks grow closer and closer to that of the red paint that was still generously spread out everywhere. His nest of hair shone in the colour of honey in the low sunlight, his eyes more sincere than Minseok would’ve expected from him.

 

“I mean, If you don’t- We can also just go as friends, I just thought- And like of course you don’t have to”, Lu Han started to ramble. It was endearing. He felt his resolve crumbling.

 

“Alright.” Minseok smiled.

 

“Alright? As in…?”

 

“Alright, I’ll let you take me out. And if it doesn’t, like, work we can always still just stay friends, right?”, Minseok replied. No matter how hard he tried to keep it cool he couldn’t help a small nervous stutter towards the end.

Lu Han’s face lit up like a christmas tree as he nodded enthusiastically. “So right now that makes us... friends, right?”

 

Minseok felt warm at the thought. “I’d say we are.”

 

His reply made Lu Han’s smile turn from hopeful to excited. In the blink of an eye he felt his wrist being grabbed by a set of slim yet firm fingers that lead him away from the stadium doors, the scarves around their necks and Lu Han’s arms swaying in the light wind.

 

“Well then, my friend,” Lu Han exclaimed loudly, “we’ve just become finalists so let’s go and celebrate!”

 

The excitement of the day all came rushing back to Minseok at once, filling him with extra giddiness. He twisted his wrist out of Lu Han’s grip to grab his hand instead, pulling him along as he broke out into a playful run.

 

Soon they were racing each other across the parking lot, gasping for air and laughing in front of the slowly setting sun.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first fic I'm posting in English and also overall my first posted story in years. It took me way too long to get this finished but I'm glad I finally did! I'd be really thankful if you'd take the time to leave a comment, I'd love to get some opinions on my writing :) Hope you enjoyed reading!


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